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1BN Experiment: Cocoa Butter on Natural Hair

Hey, my blessed naturals,
I've been wanting to try cocoa butter on my natural hair for a while now. Since I've used shea butter Since I've used shea butter on it, I just wondered about cocoa butter. So, about a month ago, I gave it a try! Here are the details and results of my experiment:

1BlessedNatural: I used Queen Helene's 100% cocoa butter stick.

1BlessedNatural: After heating the cocoa butter for 30 seconds in the microwave

I cut off about one inch of a 100% cocoa butter stick, put it in a glass cup, and heated it for about 30 seconds. The cocoa butter stick didn't melt all the way down, but it did after taking the glass cup out of the microwave and letting it sit for about 10 minutes.

Cocoa Butter After a Moisturizer

1. On the first section of hair, I applied a moisturizer. Then, I took my fingers and applied a small amount of the cocoa butter and twisted it.

1BlessedNatural: My natural hair before applying any product

1BlessedNatural: My natural hair after applying just the cocoa butter

Cocoa Butter on Dry Natural Hair

2. On the second section, I applied the cocoa butter and twisted it. My hair absorbed the cocoa butter faster than shea butter. Remember, cocoa butter is not as thick as shea butter.

1BlessedNatural: My hair with just cocoa butter on it

My Results

The first section of hair that was moisturized before applying the cocoa butter was very soft and shiny. The second section of hair absorbed the cocoa butter quickly but was also soft, shiny, and elongated. I think it would be great to do a twist-out using cocoa butter when my hair is still moisturized from (maybe) the day before.

More Research and Observations

When I heated the cocoa butter, you can see from the picture that it turned into an oil. After doing some research, I found that cocoa butter (also known as theobroma oil) is a type of vegetable fat. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines cocoa butter as "a pale-yellow, edible vegetable fat obtained from cocoa beans. Shea butter is also a type of fat, but it's from the nuts of a shea tree. Both butters can be used as a sealant to lock in the moisture of natural hair. This would be after applying a moisturizer.

Cocoa butter is also used in chocolate, cosmetics and hair products. I've used it to fade blemishes and stretch marks. Cocoa Butter is not as grainy as shea butter, and I think it's a good alternative if you are looking for a smoother and/or lighter butter to apply to your hair. Again, I think it would be interesting to see a twist-out using cocoa butter.

I will have to do some more experimenting with cocoa butter on my hair. Please let me know: